New ranges of Monoprice screens seem to be coming soon - Page 3

Looks like these screens are made by Grandview.
The logo is too similar to be a coincidence:



Do you have any pics of the mounting system and the back of the screen?

Thanks

Looks good so far. Looking forward to seeing more.

I'll grab some pics of the mounting system tomorrow, as I actually need to remount it. Grrr. I'll go ahead and scan the manual as well if anyone wants to see it.

So the screen attaches to two metal mounting strips in four places-- two up top and two on the bottom. They're not the best pieces of metal in the world, but I suppose they'll work (I haven't heard a crash downstairs yet). There are pilot holes in various places on both strips for securing the strips to concrete or studs. The only problem is that the pilot holes don't extend the full length of the strips, so the outer 6 inches or so aren't physically bolted to the wall. The result is that one of the corners of my frame isn't flush with the center, and so the picture doesn't align perfectly in that corner. Each strip has a lip for hanging the screen's hooks, and the bottom piece has a ledge to further support the screen's weight. Truth be told, I think the mounting system is subpar. I don't think it's going to crash down off the wall on its own, but the armchair engineer in me would have made it wider and with more pilot holes.

I'm shocked just how large this fully assembled screen is. The frame is 10cm thick, which seriously adds some bulk to my screen wall. But I'm definitely not complaining there, as it looks great. I can't imagine attempting to mount the 120" version with fewer than three people. I swear this thing feels like it put on another two hundred pounds between building this afternoon and mounting this evening.

Still haven't thrown a real picture at it yet, other than a convergence grid for geometry adjustments. I will say that I didn't have to muck around with my brightness/contrast to compensate for the .8 gain in checking out the grid, so yay I guess.

Edit: So it's approaching midnight and I've watched some HD boxing on Showtime and half of Zombieland on Starz-HD and I'm really, REALLY liking the screen now. There are no hotspots or problems with uniformity. I think the gain rating might even be underrated, as it's nice and bright. My HCCV Perm-Wall rated in at 1.1 and I can't tell a difference. I'm VERY impressed (and relieved) so far.

While you are waiting for your father-in-law, would you mind taking it apart and taking pics of each step of the build process now that you've had a couple of practice runs?

Yeah, I noticed that when I got the manual from Monoprice and it was exactly the same as the one you can find on the Grandview site.

Can you drll some additional holes outboard on the mounting strips?

My theater is in the downstairs family room, which is also the kids playroom, so sturdy mounting is an absolute must.

Too bad about the instructions; but glad its working out for the best.

So all the mono screens look like they come from grand view. The pictures and diagrams on the gv site are identical. Is this good news? A review on projector central says that gv screens are very well built but need slight calibration to compensate for being a bit cold (blue).

Could you take the overall dimensions please? Not that I don't believe monoprice, but i don't. Also is the top/bottom wider than the sides or is that just perception as monoprice list 100mm for all.

I would say the screens being made by Grandview is a good thing.
I can vouch for the build quality of their fixed frame screens as I have a 120" one.

A screen with those movable panels would be nice as I haven't been able to come up with a decent masking solution.

I just checked and i'm at $135 for shipping, still if this turns out good it may be worth it.

Can't wait for more pics

Yeah, waiting on more pics and impressions as well.
NATHAN!!!! you hearing us???!!!
Also, I need you to call mono price and order the white material for the screen and give me your impression of that as well as that is the material I was planning on getting.
Thanks in advance!
Besides that will be another chance for you to take it apart agian!

how would these screens compare to the elite ez frame screens? im trying to decide between the 2. thanks

Totally doable, though I've personally decided that it's entirely stable the way it is now and I'm not going to remount it (thank you lens shift).


101"x64"x2.5". With the mount it's actually 4.5" deep. The bars are all the same size-- a hair over 4" wide.

So the site is RIGHT for width, wrong for height. It lists:

Viewing Area: 1320mm Height x 2346mm Width to 998mm Height x 2346mm Width

Border Dimensions: 100mm Top x 100mm Bottom x 100mm Left x 100mm Right


so 1320 + 100 + 100 = 1520 mm ~ 60 inches, you listed 64"

I'll measure again when I get home. I'm fairly confident that I took correct measurements, but a 4" variance isn't exactly what I'd consider nominal on my tech specs.

On a frustrating side note, I guess UPS and I are playing he-said/she-said over their non-delivery delivery on Friday. I'm surmising that it's somehow my fault that I had to go pick up my own delivery across town in a random office park, and then load a 9ft 100lb box practically alone into a passenger jeep. Wheee.

Sounds like UPS to me! They are going to just tell monoprice. "see, here is his signature, we delivered it". even though you had to drive all over town..."
Sucks but at least you have your screen up! Looking forward to more impressions...
oh, and a remeasure of the dimensions as well...

also how is the slide mechanism for the masking? I know you had to have pulled it up and down a few times to check it out...

The sliding mechanism is a breeze. There's a single hook on the right side of frame for the 2.35:1 masking point. It seems sturdy enough-- if I remember correctly it's just a clear plastic hook piece. It's glued or snapped onto the frame, so it could conceivably break off at some point in the future, but it seems easily replaceable. What really excites me about the masks is that there's enough velvet on the mask to add another hook where the 2.39:1 or 2.4:1 stopping point would be. I'm on the hunt for a suitable supplemental "hook" shaped piece at Home Depot this week.

I watched "Shooter" last night for the first time and had a chance to spend close to two hours with the masks in place. There is zero light leakage and they're as close to 2.35:1 as humanly possible. All in all, these beat the hell out of the 8ft wide removable masks I made earlier this year.

Has anyone else ordered the fixed-frame version of the new Monoprice screens? I'm in the market for the 130" white 2.35:1 screen and I just wanted to get a couple more reviews before pulling the trigger over the equivalent Carada...

Well, as we think we have narrowed the manufacturer to Grandview on these new screens, perhaps you should check out their 130" version? Might be similar enough to go by. I have had no experience with Grandview until now so don't know enough to comments.
Back to Nathan,
So the masking system is on a tensioned roller mechanism like a window shade? and it simply hooks into something on the side of the screen? PICS!!!! Nice to know that there is enough material to do another ratio...

Stream, you're right, I'll look at reviews on the Grandview -- there aren't many, but they look good so far -- for the price.

Remeasured the top to bottom length and it's still 64", give or take 1/8".

And yes, comparing it to a window shade roller is definitely an apt comparison. That's pretty much exactly what it is.

Come on, weekend!

Thanks for checking on the height. I guess I will have to order mine up here in the not so distant future.

Just pulled the trigger on a 130" fixed-frame 2.35:1 White Fabric screen from Monoprice. I probably won't get it set up for a couple weeks, but I'll report back when I have.

So what's the final word? Are these screens pretty good bang for the buck? Pricing seems great.

I'm having trouble picturing how the mount adds 2" to the depth. Is the frame flush with the wall when mounted?

Also, out of curiosity, what projector are you using? When showing 2.35 content, is it projecting a 2.35: 1 image or is it projecting a 16:9 image and the screen borders are absorbing the light from the letterbox bars? If it's the latter, do you see any reflection from that light gray finger tab used to adjust the matte?

No the frame is not flush with the wall when mounted.

I'm using an Mitsubishi HC5500. For 2.35:1 content, I'm projecting a 16:9 image onto the masked 2.35:1 area, so the panels are absorbing the black bars. The finger tab does not reflect light either. As a matter of fact, I have had difficulty locating it in the dark on the occasions where I've forgotten to set the panels for 2.35:1 content before firing up a disc.

Thanks for the info. When you get a chance to add more pics, could you take another side shot of how it looks mounted. It's those sort of aesthetics my wife tends to cares about (which means I have to care about them).

Sure, I can definitely add a pic or to show the frame/mount.

I've tried and tried and tried to take decent photos of the screen in action, but every single shot has been a washed-out, shaky, or dim mess. Anyone have pointers on taking decent photos? I'm limited to a 8MP 5 year old Powershot, which could likely be the problem.